According to Tom Szocinski, when the bartender declined to serve a man who had previously been banned from the pub, he replied, “Then I’ll take this place down.” Roughly 15 minutes later, at about 12:35 a.m., employees and customers heard a loud boom and found the fire in the back of the building. All were safely evacuated.

The Masonville Township and Ensign Township fire departments responded, as well as the Delta County Sheriff’s Department and Michigan State Police. No further details on the incident were available from those agencies Monday.

Preliminary investigation showed accelerants had been used, Szocinski said, adding he had been told a suspect was taken into custody later in the day.

While the pub won’t reopen fully until a professional cleaning company can be brought in, Szocinski had Jack’s restaurant grilling and the Brisket Barn food truck on site from 4 to 8 p.m. Monday to serve customers in its outdoor venue, Rapid’s Landing. He posted on Facebook, “Between the barn and our grill we are going to enjoy the Labor Day outside in our venue!” Live music was planned as well.

Some of the damage caused by a fire early Monday at Rapid River Pub that the owner said appeared to have been deliberately set. (Adam Hinch | Daily Press)

Szocinski said he’s aiming to have the restaurant fully open by week’s end.